POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The fifth-seeded Union College women's basketball team saw its 2023-24 season come to an end in the Liberty League Tournament semifinals on Friday night, falling to top-seeded and WBCA #23 Vassar College by a 64-53 score at the Vassar Athletic & Fitness Center.
 
Sophomore Jelena Perovic scored a team-leading 18 points in 38 minutes of action for Union (12-15), followed by senior Kennedy Clark with 11 points and seven rebounds in her final collegiate outing.
 
Vassar (24-2) was paced by Tova Gelb with a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds, followed by Sierra McDermed with 17 points and Julia Harvey with 12.
 
Union hung with Vassar for the first four minutes of the contest, taking a 6-4 lead after a Clark trifecta with 5:25 on the clock. However, the Brewers closed the frame with a 14-4 run, led by six points from McDermed, to take an 18-10 lead after one period. The Garnet Chargers remained within eight early in the second after a three-point play from senior Grace Enselek, but Union hit only 2-of-8 field goals over the final 7:44 to allow Vassar to go on a 15-6 run and take a 38-21 lead into the half.
 
The home team grew its lead to as many as 19 early in the third period at 42-23, but Union clawed back with an 11-3 run to get back within single digits with 3:02 on the clock. Despite that effort, Vassar still took a 51-36 advantage into the final frame.
 
The Garnet Chargers would not go away quietly, however, scoring 15 of the fourth quarter's first 21 points to make it a two-possession game at 57-51 with 3:11 remaining. Clark had a team-leading six points during the run, in which Union hit 6-of-7 shots from the field, including both attempts from long range. Perovic finished the run with a layup, but that was the last field goal Union made until the waning seconds, as the Brewers hit a layup and sunk 5-of-6 shots from the charity stripe to seal the win.
 
Union shot better (7 of 17) in the fourth quarter, but struggled for much of the game and finished shooting 31.0 percent (18 of 58) from the field. Vassar ended the evening at 41.1 percent (23 of 56) from the field and 43.8 percent (7 of 16) from behind the arc.
 
The loss marks the end of another successful season for the Garnet Chargers, who reached the postseason for the third straight year and won a conference tournament game for the second time in three years.